Amelia Earhart was born in 1897 in a small Kansas town. That was six years before the Wright brothers took their famous first airplane flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Over the next two decades, aviation developed rapidly, but the pilots at the controls were mainly men. Amelia Earhart broke through that barrier to become a famous aviator, and she paved the way for women who followed. Amelia Takes Off
Amelia took her first flying lesson in 1921. At the end of the year, she received her pilot’s license. She took odd jobs and received financial help from her mother to buy her own airplane. With a plane of her own, Amelia quickly began making a name for herself in the aviation world. In October 1922, she broke a world record for female pilots by flying her plane to 14,000 feet in altitude. In 1923, she received her International Pilot’s License—just the sixteenth woman in the world to do so. Unfortunately, Amelia had to sell her plane to give her mother money, and for a while, her love of aviation became more of a hobby.

But this all changed in 1928 when Amelia was contacted by publisher George Putnam, who she later married. He invited her to be a passenger on a cross-Atlantic flight. Amelia would have preferred to be the pilot, not the passenger, but at the time, flying a plane over an ocean was considered too dangerous for women.

The flight was successful, and Amelia became world-famous as the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. However, Amelia was not satisfied. She did not get to operate the controls during the flight and thought of herself as being no more important to the flight’s success than “a sack of potatoes.” She was determined to fly on her own.

Amelia Reaches Stardom
In 1929, Amelia became involved with an organization called the Ninety-Nines, a group that promoted female pilots in the aviation industry. She was the group’s first president. In May of 1932, Amelia crossed the Atlantic again, but this time she was at the controls. She made the trip from Canada to Ireland in 15 hours. She received many medals and awards for her achievement.

Amelia hoped her success would open doors for women in aviation and in other fields, so she continued flying and setting records. She became the first person to fly across both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans when she flew from Hawaii to California.

An Extraordinary Mission
Even after proving she was a world-class aviator, Amelia still wanted more. In 1937, she set off on an amazing trip: flying around the world. Amelia started in California but faced trouble along the way. She became ill, her plane needed repairs, and bad weather forced a change in the flight route. She made it to one of her planned stops near Australia, but she never made it to her next destination. People all over the world were following the news of Amelia’s trip—and now she was missing! President Franklin D. Roosevelt conducted a $4 million rescue mission, but Amelia was never found.

Amelia hoped that her actions would inspire other women to follow their dreams. One of her lifelong missions was for the world to recognize that women could have the same careers as men. Even though she died at a young age, just 40 years old, Amelia was an inspiration to many.

Amelia Earhart is sitting in her plane with her aviation hat and goggles on.

Which elements from “Amelia Earhart: Pioneer” show that it is not a tall tale? Choose three answers.

A.
It talks about the life of an exciting person.

B.
The story characters are real people.

C.
The story events actually happened.

D.
It describes people and events truthfully.

E.
It talks about the life of an explorer.